Monday, April 30, 2012

Many Gringos who start a business in Costa Rica FAIL within a year or two... and usually they have plenty of excuses.

It's not difficult to understand why many folks would like to live and operate a small business in Costa Rica- it's beautiful, laid back, relatively inexpensive and a nice alternative to the hustle and bustle, not to mention, stress of many First World Countries. So there is a natural allure for many of us seeking a change so to speak. That said, most of us need to make a little money in order to live and STAY in Paradise because it sure in hell isn't FREE. And similar to Adam and Eve, not everyone makes it in paradise as we've seen our fair share of Gringos come and go, unable to make it work here in Costa Rica and almost always, ALWAYS for the same reasons- under estimating the time it takes to start a business and under estimating the amount of money it takes as well. 'Under estimating' is easy to do here if you're not prepared. This would be a good time to CHECK OUT my video:

A few other reasons why many don't make it here- initial idea was not a good one or just wasn't researched enough to see if it would fly. For example- Gringo from New York opened a Mini putt-putt about a quarter mile away from the center of La Fortuna. It's covered but a little too generic, he charges $12. per person and you should know that Tico's don't play putt-putt. Care to guess as to why he won't be here in a few more months besides the obvious?

Anyway, another reason, lack of marketing. Marketing is huge, the 'Build it and they will Come' mentality does not make it here and although you could have the BEST thing going, if folks don't know about it.... well, you do the math.

Bottom Line- don't come here unless you're certain you have enough of the TIME and MONEY it takes in order to realize Paradise... and then some.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at TravelCostaRicaNow@gmail.com

Monday, April 23, 2012

La Fortuna, Costa Rica is a great travel destination vacation if you don't have much time in the country.

D'Angelo's family had never been to Costa Rica, so we thought La Fortuna would be the perfect vacation destination for 2 very good reasons. One, his family only had 7 days for vacation and 2, they didn't want to spend half their vacation in a car... oh and 3, for this trip, they didn't seem to be interested in doing the 'beach thing'. And of course living here in Fortuna, we do know a few things and a few people... but I promise, that was not the main reason we picked our hometown of La Fortuna. *Not saying there's not other places in Costa Rica that someone couldn't spend 7 days and 6 nights.... but you'd be hard pressed to find another town in Costa Rica with so much to offer.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Me, trying to learn Spanish has been the BIGGEST frustration of my LIFE since moving to Costa Rica 7 years ago.

I can tell you people get almost pissed when I tell them that my Spanish SUCKS! They seem to have no problem letting me know that I've been in Costa Rica far too long not to know Spanish- "If you wanted to learn, you would." In some ways I agree with them...

Check out the video and tell me if I deserve a little more sympathy... or not. Is there ANYONE out there that can RELATE?

Friday, April 13, 2012

The rich and powerful in Costa Rica scamming legitimate land owners with impunity.

Looks like Costa Rica is shooting itself in the foot again. This video was sent to me from a friend so I'm passing it on.... I don't know if this guys story is true but I know where I would lay my money. At the least, it's interesting and should be considered if you own or would like to own land in Costa Rica. Check it out,,,totally SUCKS and if it's true, goes way UP the ladder.

This VIDEO is about the 14 year struggle of Sheldon Haseltine to get land back from rich squatters, who hide behind "landless peasants" and cynically use the Costa Rica Justice System for their own benefit and profit.

Good LUCK Mr. Haseltine, I fear you're going to need it.

"The real victim is Investment and Tourism in Costa Rica. If these hoggish hypocrites are allowed to get away with threatening me with jail after the Tribunal has ruled in our favor then the law is merely a tool for sanctioning land grabs. If﻿ they get away with this, no foreigner and Tico is immune from this kind of voracious swindle. That they hid behind the skirts of a campesino like cowards say it all . It was only by providence that we discovered the real truth behind this squalid swindle." -S. Haseltine

PS. For you Costa Rica bloggers out there- PASS this ON, it's the least we could do.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The electrocution of sloths, monkeys and other small creatures is a unfortunate reality in Costa Rica, but to be honest, I'm not quite sure how big the problem actually is. But from what I've gathered it happens enough to be a serious concern and really, how many small animals and birds have to needlessly die or be injured before something is done about it anyway. I first heard of the problem when D'Angelo and I were videotaping at the Jaguar Rescue Center in Puerto Viejo- here's that VIDEO.

A sloth livin' the Pura Vida.

Apparently, there's power lines in Costa Rica that are not insulated which of course is NOT good when many small animals use these wires like they would the trees. Gee, wonder if this has anything to do with deforestation? But to give a little credit, the powers that be in CR have tried a few methods to mitigate the problem such as cutting back the branches away from the wires and also building 'bridges' to make coming and going a little easier for the animals... but it's not enough. Wires need to be insulated or put underground. PERIOD.

If you know more about this or know the BEST way to help, please pass that INFO along in the comments.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Costa Rica has MORE than its fair share of bugs, spiders, snakes and other nondescript creepy-crawlies. To many, that's just Costa Rica and comes with the territory, to others, it's their worst nightmare. We know, we receive more than a few emails from those who are SCARED to death of the possibility of encountering a rabid, steroided, flying whatchamacallit while traveling around Costa Rica. So they write and ask if they should be worried... because they really want to come and all, but not if the odds are good they'll come face to face with a grasshopper the size of a baby kitten. You can tell by the tone of their emails that our answer could be a deal breaker.

Just one of the reasons you want to stay ON the trail.

We understand their concern and made this video to put your mind at ease.